Investigating the influence of brewery ingredient byproduct inclusion during the dry-aging process on beef strip steak attributes

Abstract This study evaluated the influence of brewery ingredient inclusion during the dry-aging (DA) process on beef steak attributes. Loins ( N = 4; USDA Choice, 21d postmortem, previously frozen) were sectioned and equally, randomly assigned to treatments: conventional DA (CON), DA with Kviek yeast (BY1), DA with Saccharomyces yeast (BY2), DA with yellow koji (KM1), or DA with white koji (KM2). Samples were DA for 14d at 2 °C and 75% relative humidity then processed for further analyses. Differences were considered significant at P < 0.05, with tendencies declared at 0.05 > P ≤ 0.10. No treatment effects occurred for evaporative loss, shear force, objective color, microbial enumeration, nor lipid oxidation ( P > 0.05). KM2 loins had reduced trim and total loss percentages ( P < 0.01). Lower pH values were recorded for KM2 than CON and BY1 ( P < 0.05); however, all values were considered normal for beef pH. Five volatile compounds differed ( P < 0.04), while eight tended to differ ( P < 0.10). Brewery waste treatments had elevated alcohol, aldehyde, and ester-derived compounds compared to CON. These volatiles were associated with fruity, floral, and umami flavors. Study results suggest brewery ingredients may serve as viable DA beef quality and flavor enhancer.